Fitapreta

Until a very few years ago, Évora was a closed guarded secret, the preserve of a lucky few who had the good fortune to have discovered it. Located on a hilltop, enclosed within 14th century walls and dominated by a majestic medieval cathedral, this enchanting little town is now widely renowned.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986, and nominated as the next European Capital of Culture in 2027, Évora dominates the enormous Alentejo plain and is nestled in a landscape of picturesque castle towns and quiet hillside villages, olive groves and fields of cork oaks.
A sleepy province with a pervasive sense of calm, for us it is one of the most inspiring places in all Portugal.

When we board our rickety jeep, heading north, we follow the directions of our satnav. A quarter of an hour later, we find ourselves before a gate so deliberately anonymous that we wonder for a moment whether we have taken a wrong turn.
FITAPRETA. This is the gateway to the world of António Maçanita and Alexandra Leroy Maçanita. Little do I know it, but this place will continue to astound me in years to come: indeed, in October 2024, during a masterclass in Milan at the Andrea Aprea restaurant, Filipe Rocha, Founding Partner of Azores Wine company, was to bring me a bottle of their incredible Moreto.

This is not the first time we have visited one of the couple's wineries: we had already been to Azores Wine Company and now we are looking forward to discovering a new one.
Although, for the second time, Alexandra tells us that we will have to dispense with her husband's presence.

For me, Antonio is as the sweet apple, that reddens at the end of a bough was for the poetess Sappho: never forgotten, but likewise never grasped.
When we visited the Azores winery, in fact, he was in Alentejo. Now that we are here in Alentejo, he is in Douro: unreachable.

Alexandra, however, more than makes up for them both: she is an explosion of vitality, joie de vivre and generosity who sweeps us off our feet from the very first moment. 

In the shadow of the 14th-century entrance arch, she embraces us like old friends she hasn’t seen in years and then, with an infectious smile, takes us by the hand and leads us into her world: an incredible place, in perfect equilibrium between past and future.

Fitapreta was born in 2004 from a shared dream between 24-year-old Antonio Maçanita and English viticulture consultant, David Booth. Although lacking money, wine and a vineyard, they were both driven by immense passion and boundless hope.

We return to the present and walk around the estate's inner courtyard, where the grand 14th-century manor house overlooks the winery's more modern wing. An enduring demonstration of how Fitapreta listens to the past but looks to the future, with a steady growth that has led Antonio Maçanita to win numerous awards: Winemaker of the Year in 2018, Singularity Award in 2018, Revelation Producer in 2017, Wine Project of the Year in 2016 and Producer of the Year in 2020.

We take another leap back in time.
At 10 a.m. on a Sunday morning in 2015, Antonio and I came knocking on the door of this ancient manor house. - tells Alexandra - We found an owner who was utterly resistant to the idea of selling the estate, and it took more than 16 months of continuous visits to convince D. João Saldanha to cede part of the property.

Following protracted negotiations, the seller set two key conditions for the sale: the full restoration of a property at risk of falling into total disrepair and, of no lesser importance, the guarantee of continuity for the Saldanha family, that had owned and maintained the building since its foundation in 1306. To this end, in 2016 Fitapreta acquired 87 percent of the Paço do Morgado de Oliveira, with sole responsibility for its restoration and the right to its exclusive use, with the family holding the remainder clearly reflecting their deep desire for continuity.

Antonio and Alexandra’s vision and actions recall the words of Tancredi, in Tomasi di Lampedusa's The Leopard, “If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change."

Speaking of change, Alexandra throws open the doors of the old chapel which has now been converted into a welcoming gathering space combined with an area for ageing the wine. The first sensations reach us from the past: austerity, silence and wonder, with a great sense of historical sacrality.
Slowly, present day sensations also come into play, and we embrace a profound invitation to reconcile with our inner world.

You feel as if you want to sit down on the floor, perhaps with a glass of wine in hand, and muse aloud.
Pondering upon your innermost feelings, while the outside world lies closed behind the door and life seems to flow at the kind of pace you had forgotten existed.

Alexandra brings us back to reality from our meanderings in this parallel world: it is time to find out which and how many of his goals Antonio has achieved at Fitapreta.

Even before filling the glass, Alexandra exhorts with immense pride: The wine is produced with total respect for nature and is guided by a non-interventionist philosophy. Our wines come from an array of native Portuguese grape varieties. Everything originates in the vineyard, in complete synergy between man, vine, soil and climate.
The grapes we purchase come from carefully selected vineyards throughout the Alentejo region and are managed by our team of winegrowers. We have also purchased 20 hectares of an old vineyard with approximately 50-year-old grapes of all varieties.

My head spins just thinking back to the sixteen different labels we tasted in Alexandra's company. A wine journey that had us flying all around Alentejo and provided us with a taste of the true soul of this region.
Here is what bewitched us:

Palpite white “reserva” 2022 and its freshness captivated us and took us back to the Premier Cru of Meursault.
Made from a blend of indigenous varieties, including Tamarez and a wonderfully fleshy Arinto.
The nose is simply stunning: hazelnut, a hint of aniseed and spicy pear. The palate is rich in fruit: plenty of salty lime, melon and delicate tropical nuances. So multifaceted and revitalising!

Arinto das Indigenas do Morgado 2021 comes from what many consider to be the oldest known area of vineyards in Évora. This wine is made only with indigenous yeasts from the Morgado de Oliveira vineyard.
It speaks the language of nature: an intense aromaticity with notes of honey and iodine, while its structure is dense and delicate. It has a production of only 1993 bottles.

Tinta Carvalha 2021 has us completely hooked. 100% Tinta Carvalha: an ancient grape from the Chão dos Eremitas vineyard, hand-picked from 51-year-old vines. Spontaneous fermentation and maceration for 40 days in skins, followed by ageing 12 months in neutral barrels and is the only mono-variety in Portugal. A disconcerting red, which clearly showcases this variety’s role in the ancient vineyards of the Alentejo. Displaying freshness and purity, it is the other soul of the Alentejo.

We end this meeting with a new insight into what Portugal is doing within the world of wine.
What Antonio Maçanita is doing.

The wines we have tasted are proof of Antonio's curiosity, ambition, playfulness and obsessive attention to detail.
We leave the estate after begging Alexandra to let us keep the bottles opened during the tasting. A haul that will not see the light of the following day.

Once again, as with the Azores and like Sappho’s famous apple, Antonio has eluded me. I will continue to cherish the hope of meeting him one day, to finally shake his hand and ask him a question, just one: how the hell did you do it?

One year later

It is October 2024 and I have organised a masterclass at the Andrea Aprea restaurant to present some of my most exclusive labels. The guests will be expert journalists and qualified sommeliers from the leading restaurants throughout Italy. I have the honour and the wonderful news of having Filipe Rocha, Founding Partner of Azores Wine Company, alongside me. A person of outstanding professionalism and dirompedic personality, who once again amazes me. Because, this time, he has brought me an exceptional new wine from Fitapreta to taste. 

It is a Moreto, a red wine that immediately catches the eye with its intense ruby colour and then unfolds, revealing itself in all its extraordinary essence. With a medium concentration, it offers aromas of ripe black fruit, with notes of woodland. Concentrated and fresh, it delivers a lingering structure in the finish. This is truly a wine you would not expect and it demonstrates how the Alentejo can offer us emotions beyond the realms of our imagination. 

Happy and grateful after this unexpected tasting, I won’t deny that I hope the future has further opportunities in store to taste new and surprising labels together with Filipe Rocha.